CLAYTON 鈥 Fontbonne University banked on a new sprint football program to help reverse its plummeting enrollment. But half the team dropped out of the private Catholic institution after its first season 鈥 raising questions over Fontbonne鈥檚 future as it plans massive cuts to academic programs.
The new football program attracted 45 student-athletes from local high schools and across the country in the inaugural 2022 season, coinciding with Fontbonne鈥檚 move to drop standardized testing and a minimum high school GPA from admission requirements.
But in their first year at Fontbonne, 73% of the football players failed one or more courses, according to administrators. The team finished fifth out of six teams in the nascent Midwest Sprint Football League, which features a faster version of football with players whose weight is capped at 178 pounds. Most of Fontbonne鈥檚 players quit the team after the first season.
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Altogether, half of the players left Fontbonne because they flunked out, lost their financial aid or some combination of both, three people affiliated with the university told the Post-Dispatch.
The sources, who asked to remain anonymous over fears of retribution, said they were concerned that some of the players quit the university saddled with student loan debt and few, if any, academic credits. One source expressed concern that the team鈥檚 poor performance and high rate of dropouts will lower the university鈥檚 graduation rate, which can affect school funding. The sources questioned whether this strategy was effective as the university is now weighing cuts to degree programs.
Fontbonne officials said the athletics department boosted academic supports for the football team after the failures of the first year, including weekly study halls, tutoring and a free credit-recovery program over winter break.
鈥淔ontbonne works one-on-one with every student to help them succeed,鈥 Quinton Clay, vice president for enrollment management, marketing and communications, said in an email. 鈥淯nfortunately, some of those students did not return due to individual circumstances, and we respect the privacy of their decisions.鈥
Headwinds in higher education
Competition among higher education institutions has intensified in recent years due to fewer college-aged students and a slowing rate of college entry. That demographic cliff has exposed weaknesses in enrollment trends as many colleges struggle to attract and retain students. Webster University, a private college in Webster Groves, has lost more than $128 million over the past decade as enrollment fell.
Fontbonne experienced a 60% drop in enrollment and more than $14 million in lost revenues over the past decade, according to tax records. The university is also facing a deficit of $5.2 million in the 2024 budget 鈥 prompting officials to consider eliminating more than 20 degree programs and laying off 18 faculty members. Just 874 students including 650 undergraduates are enrolled at Fontbonne this fall, down from roughly 2,000 students a decade ago.
The proposed cuts include undergraduate degree programs in art, actuarial science, deaf education, game development, global studies, health care management and religious studies.
Graduate student M.V. Laughlin to save the art department 鈥 it has more than 600 signatures as of Friday afternoon 鈥 that she hopes will sway Nancy Blattner, Fontbonne鈥檚 president. She said students understand Fontbonne has had to employ new strategies to grow enrollment, such as starting the new football program, and that cuts need to happen. But McLaughlin worries that administrators are not making 鈥渆quitable鈥 cuts and that, in doing so, the university could lose more than it realizes.
鈥淚 would hate to see Fontbonne go in the direction where they lean so heavy into sports that they lose sight of their core values of what they should be and what they themselves are saying they should provide as a university,鈥 McLaughlin said.
It was Blattner鈥檚 idea to launch the sprint football program. She came to Fontbonne in 2020 from Caldwell University in New Jersey, which also added sprint football during her tenure. Blattner told the Post-Dispatch in 2022 that 鈥渙ne thing led to another鈥 with bringing the sport to St. 不良研究所导航网址.
鈥淎t first, I didn鈥檛 think much of it, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made,鈥 she said.
The Midwest Sprint Football League launched in June 2022 with six teams; Blattner became founding chair of the league鈥檚 board of governors.
Sprint football seemed positioned to reverse Fontbonne鈥檚 declining enrollment. The freshman class in 2022 totaled 181 students, one of the largest in over a decade. A quarter of all incoming freshmen were football players.
The program also appeared to be helping underserved students. University administrators boasted in a news release that half of the class were first-generation college students. The 44 freshmen players came from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico and North Carolina as well as more than a dozen local high schools, including University City, Carnahan and Lift for Life Academy.
But one former player said it was largely disorganized: Two-person dorms were outfitted with double bunkbeds to accommodate three or four students. Players were confused about their student loan packages. And because Fontbonne lacks athletic fields, players had to drive 4 miles east of campus for practices and home games at St. 不良研究所导航网址 University High School.
Head football coach Austin Bortle declined to comment.
Changes this year
Administrators said they had to modify 鈥渁 few鈥 dorm rooms in that first year. This fall, they said, Fontbonne opened a new residence hall for 47 additional students to alleviate crowding.
This year, freshman enrollment fell to 158, a 13% decline, nearly wiping out gains made the previous year. The football team improved its record to 4-3 while still finishing in the bottom half of the Midwest Sprint Football League.
Fontbonne officials declined to provide the current team鈥檚 average college GPA, citing privacy concerns. The sprint football league鈥檚 bylaws state that football players must be full-time students and carry a 2.0 GPA.
The university did not directly answer questions about players鈥 student loans other than to say that athletes and their families are 鈥渋nvited to presentations鈥 about financial aid. But federal loans make up the majority of financial aid, the latest available tax records show.
Administrators also did not state how much money Fontbonne had invested in the program 鈥 they said that is 鈥減roprietary information鈥 and that sprint football is 鈥渞evenue positive鈥 and financed by private donors, the officials said. Players also shared that has so far raised $120.
Clay, the Fontbonne vice president, said in an email that the university is proud of the success of the football team.
鈥淭he new Sprint Football program, in its second year at Fontbonne, has brought hard-working and passionate students to our caring community,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e value the opportunity to partner with them as they pursue their goals on and off the field.鈥